This short Op-Doc documentary profiles a former prisoner who guides men released from life sentences in California through their first hours of freedom. The film raises questions about second chances in life, the dangers of categorizing people, and the importance of both giving and receiving support.

Students

1. Watch the eight-minute film above. While you watch, you might take notes using our Film Club Double-Entry Journal (PDF) to help you remember specific moments.

2. After watching, think about these questions:

• What moments in this film stood out for you? Why?

• Were there any surprises? Anything that challenged what you know — or thought you knew?

• What messages, emotions or ideas will you take away from this film? Why?

• What questions do you still have?

3. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)

4. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.

5. To learn more, read this article by the filmmakers, Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega:

When California voters amended the state’s harsh three-strikes law in 2012, they ensured that nonviolent third offenses would no longer lead to life sentences. Significantly, they made about 3,000 people serving those life sentences suddenly eligible for release. Since then, more than 2,000 have emerged after years in prison into worlds dramatically transformed from those they left behind.

This Op-Doc video profiles one of them. Stanley Bailey was a lifer until he was released earlier this year. Carlos Cervantes, a former prisoner himself and part of a “ride home” program founded by the Stanford Three Strikes Project and the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, picks him up and guides him through his vulnerable first hours of freedom.

Having followed those at the core of three-strikes reform for three years, we’ve been struck by the encouraging results: hundreds of families reunited, millions of dollars saved, and recidivism rates remarkably low.

But re-entry is much more complicated than simply leaving prison. More than half a million people are released each year in the United States, most with a meager $200 of gate money coupled with an abundance of barriers to re-entering society. Many are banned from housing, jobs, student loans and voting. And many have been profoundly affected by institutionalization, making the transition even more difficult.

Ride-home programs like the one that employs Mr. Cervantes are a small but crucial piece of the reform puzzle our nation is tasked with solving. They are essential for helping people like Mr. Bailey deal with the emotional scars of prison and the inevitable disorientation of re-entering a changed world.